Servant Leadership and the World of HOAs

Review by Rolf Crocker

In his book "The Purpose-Driven Life", author Rick Warren starts out with a simple, yet profound statement:

"It's not about you."

Some 35 years prior to that line being written, Robert Greenleaf was wrestling with similar issues.  In the mid-to-late 1960's, he observed the great institutions of our Country - Business, Government, Universities and Churches - and noticed a disconnect between those institutions designed to serve and those being served.  The culmination of his soul searching was an essay entitled simply, "The Servant as Leader".  This was arguably the birth of a concept called 'Servant Leadership', in which Greenleaf stated the following:

"The servant-leader is servant first…  It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first.  Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead."

Greenleaf then offered up this 'test' to see if Leaders are operating as Servants first:

"Do those served grow as persons?  Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants?  And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society?  Will they benefit, or at least not be further deprived?"

What does all of this have to do with Homeowner's Associations?  To me - EVERYTHING!  There is an old saying: "You can't legislate morality."  I agree.  The difficulty with laws and rules is that they address symptoms and cannot deal with two key issues wherein I believe much of the fragility of HOA's exist - motive and intent.  These issues are not easily addressed.  The reasons we 'do what we do' have an infinite number of variables, predicated on such things as genetics, upbringing, life experience, cultural/gender differences, along with a myriad of other factors.  So, what can we do?

Let's look again at the opening statement from Rick Warren.  In a world where 'some are more equal than others' and WIIFM (What's in it for me?) rules, we need to take a step back and reflect - will this decision and/or action effect positive change?  Can I apply the test suggested above by Greenleaf and, at the very least, am I facing that direction?  HOAs should exist as serving institutions - not to be served, but to serve.  However, its ability to 'serve' can only be manifested through individuals - Board Members, Managers, etc. - who are willing to check egos and personal agendas at the door and say, "What can I do to make this a more serving institution?"  This 'road less traveled' takes enormous amounts of courage and vulnerability, discipline and sacrifice.  Since we are self-preservationists by nature, this doesn't come easily - it involves risk.  But what are the options?  Too often, it is cynicism, bitterness and burn-out, all of which lead to a miserable attitude at best and life-threatening illnesses at worst.  It's no wonder why the average tenure of a Community Association Manager is 18 months.  If your mission statement is "No good deed goes unpunished", you are destined to fall somewhere within the spectrum outlined above.

It has been said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.  If we continue to do what we've always done, we'll get what we've always got.  This is by no means intended to be a definitive solution - just an offering of a different way to look at what we do, with the sincere hope that for some, it will lead to a different, better, more positive result.